Raining fire with global blessing

The current Israeli invasion of Gaza has been in gestation for the past two years, since, to the surprise of Western countries and most political analysts, Hamas had swept to power in Palestine with an overwhelming majority. At the time, the Jewish state had openly declared that it would not countenance rule next door by this "terrorist group" that had not reconciled to its existence. This thinking has been further underlined by Tzipi Livni, Israel's Foreign Minister, as well as Benjamin Netanyahu - the two main contenders for the post of Prime Minister after the general elections next month. Both have made the toppling of the Hamas government as a top priority objective to achieve. To quote Livni, "Hamas's control of the Gaza Strip is not only Israel's problem...but what we are doing is an expression of the needs of the region." The Americans, Israel's ever ready and willing allies, did their best to stymie the chances of Hamas assuming power early 2006, even though it had gained an unquestioned electoral victory in a free and fair democratic process, something they had been lecturing Middle Eastern countries about to adopt. The Europeans just toed the US line. The events that followed since January 2006, the time when Hamas defeated its rival Fatah, reveal a sordid tale of machination by these powers to frustrate the will of the Palestinian people. Israel has been let loose on the hapless, innocent people: pressures in the form of aerial attacks and economic blockade were applied to create fear and harassment among them and persuade them to change their loyalties from the political party that stood for the fulfilment of their aspirations. On the other hand, the rivalry between the Palestinian ranks - Hamas and Fatah - became acute and at times turned into open warfare that was, quite expectedly, to work against the Palestinian interests. They openly fell out and Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, leaving the West Bank to the charge of the Palestinian Authority. The present onslaught against Gaza, bloodiest in 40 years, which has so far resulted in the deaths of well over 500 Palestinians, including nearly 100 children, and injuries to more than 2,000 is part of these manoeuvrings designed to eliminate Hamas as a political party so that Israel could easily deal with the pro-West, pliant Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas. On the expiry of the six-month-long truce on December 19, Hamas and other factions in Gaza expressed their readiness to negotiate its extension. However, their conditions, though perfectly legitimate, were not acceptable to Israel and the question of negotiations never arose, with Cairo making a half-hearted attempt to renew it. Hamas wanted an end to Israeli incursions into the Strip and the tactics to close its borders to cause economic blockade. The closure of Gaza crossings periodically imposed had brought untold misery to local residents. It cut off supplies of food and humanitarian aid, causing hunger and suffering and bringing commercial activity to a halt. Stoppage of the flow of fuel, used to run power stations, among other things, deprived the 1.5 million Gazans of the basic amenity of electricity. And if a truce were to be concluded, it must ensure that Tel Aviv would not impose these 'punishments', which it is not willing to accept because stopping military raids and keeping the crossings open would have reduced Israeli's options vis--vis Hamas. The Israelis are accusing Hamas of launching rocket attacks on their territory. An intelligent assessment of the ground realities would not permit the Palestinians to take on Israel, but it has made their lives utterly miserable and meaningless. Although unable to effect any change, they resort to throwing these homemade missiles in sheer desperation and anger at the barbarities they are going through. One hears hollow slogans such as 'we will open the gates of hell' for Israel and 'resume suicide bombings'. Influential powers are ranged on the side of Israel. While some of them want an immediate ceasefire, they put the blame squarely on Hamas for disturbing the peace by hurling Qassam rockets. These ineffective weapons hardly ever reach Israel's population centres; yet they do cause provocation. The resolution some Muslim countries wanted to present before the UNSC to bring about an immediate ceasefire was opposed by the West. The US leaves it to Tel Aviv to decide whether to cease fire or continue the attacks because it was, it maintains, Hamas rockets that set off the present conflict. Other powers, Russia and Britain, demand a quick ceasefire. In the meantime, the Israeli aerial raids and ground offensive takes a heavy toll of Palestinian lives. There are also reports of the use of chemical weapons. Gazans are going through an unprecedented catastrophe. As the Muslim world, weak and forlorn, looks on the fate of Gazans hangs in the balance. E-mail: mqkay@yahoo.co.uk